Fragile
by Noos
Summary: She could feel them watching, their eyes trained on her and Gendry, waiting for the right moment to attack. AU where Arya and Gendry stayed with the brotherhood. Arya/Gendry, Jon/Ygritte, gratuitous Anguy because I love him.


**I really want to try and write a chapter fic, but I know my updates would be less than stellar, so until then, here's another one-shot. It would make a lot more sense if you read "Tomorrow will be kinder" (one of my previous one shots), but if you choose not to, then I hope you enjoy it anyway! As always, thanks to my beta eeg01 for being awesome.**

**Fragile**

She could hear him pull out an arrow behind her. His footsteps were louder than she would've liked them to be, but she knew he couldn't help it no matter how hard he tried.

They were around here somewhere, she knew. She could feel them watching, their eyes trained on her and Gendry, waiting for the right moment to attack. She tightened her grip on her own bow, arrow tucked in place and ready to be shot, and scanned the area once more. There was a light breeze and the crunching of leaves beneath their feet, but she could hear no other sounds. The cluster of bushes and trees made it hard to tell where one greenery ended and the other began.

She heard Gendry move behind her once more, could feel him get ready to fire the arrow his bow held until then, and her curiosity got the better of her. She turned in time to see Gendry shoot the arrow, barely registering the flash of red between the bushes. By the time she turned back to get a closer look, it was too late.

The arrow had come from where she knew Ygritte had been hiding a second before, and planted itself firmly not three inches from Gendry's right foot.

"DEAD!" came Jon's angry voice as he jumped out of the bush and landed feet first in front of Gendry.

Ygritte and Anguy followed a second later, each coming out of their hiding place, and Anguy went to retrieve the arrow Gendry shot.

"What are you talking about?" Gendry started to protest, taking the arrow Anguy offered him and tucking it back into his quiver. "I got Anguy."

"And I got you," Ygritte retorted pointing towards her arrow before kneeling near Gendry to retrieve it. He seemed genuinely surprised to see it there and took a moment to understand before turning his accusatory gaze towards Arya.

She tried to hold her own but caved too quickly. "I'm sorry!" She huffed out throwing her bow on the ground with a loud thump. "You're just so loud when you move and I wanted to see what you were aiming at."

She was trying not to feel bad about getting Gendry killed for the fourth time this week but it wasn't working. He never failed to protect her on all of the routine training sessions Jon and Ygritte were shoving down their throats. It was unnerving.

"Arya..." Gendry started to say when he saw the guilty look coloring her face. He knew her too well. That was unnerving too. She was trying to act tough and blame it all on him, but he could see the worry she was trying so hard to mask.

"You think Gendry doesn't hear you move when you're firing an arrow?" Jon interrupted angrily before Gendry could say any more. "You might be stealthier than most people but you're not as quiet as you'd like to think," he went on trying not to get too worked up. He, too, was failing miserably at keeping his composure. "Dammit Arya! When are you going to get it through your head that you're not made of steel?" The worry was starting to take over and he knew he had to calm down before he said something he didn't mean. "Even Anguy doesn't go pretending he's invincible, and he thinks he's one of the Seven!"

Anguy looked confused for a second before putting a hand on his heart and feigning hurt. "I resent that," he protested. "I AM one of the Seven. I'll have you know I am the Warrior reincarnated in the body of an obnoxious, lanky, ginger chap so as to deceive my enemies regarding my true nature," he continued looking so serious it was almost comical. Gendry chuckled under his breath and Ygritte let out a loud snort so unladylike Arya almost ran over to hug her. Anguy smiled and winked at Ygritte and then seemed to sober up all of a sudden turning Arya's way. "He is right, though." He was so serious Gendry wondered not for the first time how someone could shift gears from ridiculous to grim in the space of a single breath. "You have to focus, Arya. The only thing we have working to our advantage is this land. It's our land and this is our forest and we know it better than anyone." He was quiet for only a second before continuing. "The Lannisters shit gold, Stannis has his shadows, the Targaryens breed dragons, and don't even get me started on the White Walkers," he breathed holding a hand up and shaking his head. "These woods are all we know. We can hear foreign footsteps coming a mile away. But only if we're not distracted."

Everyone was quiet for a second. It was so unusual for Anguy to be the voice of reason that everyone had to stop and think about it.

"You gotta stop worrying about your friends and start watching out for your enemies," Ygritte said a moment later in a small voice. She could see the distress on Arya's face and didn't want her to think she was chastising her. She knew they were all right, but she was also aware that too much pressure would do Arya no good. In the short time she's known the younger girl, she'd come to care for her so much that she felt the need to protect her from everything, even from Jon and Gendry.

Arya felt cornered with all of them ganging up on her. She looked to the ground trying not to feel like a little girl being scolded for getting her dress dirty. "I know," she whispered almost inaudibly, meeting Gendry's eyes. His big blue ones softened when he took in her appearance and she saw his hands turn into fists at his side to keep from reaching out to her in front of everyone.

It was no secret that they were together - they never slept separately and the only person who could calm Arya down when she was having any sort of trouble was Gendry -, but they tried not to flaunt it around, especially not in front of Jon. She was still his little sister and he was understandably protective of her. No matter how much she'd grown up, he still saw her as his 5-year-old feisty baby sister who followed him and Robb around begging them to let her play with their swords and who climbed the towers of Winterfell with Bran to count the stars at night.

"I just worry," Arya continued ever so quietly, staring at the ground again. "I worry about you," she said looking at Gendry and he flinched. "And you," she continued turning to Jon who met her gaze with eyes that looked so much like her own. "And you, Ygritte," she said turning to look at the flame-haired girl who had rooted herself so deep in her heart that she sometimes forgot she wasn't always there. Ygritte smiled sadly. "I even worry about you, you lanky, obnoxious ginger!" She smiled at Anguy and he let out a chuckle. She then turned to Gendry again trying to convey everything she was feeling, hoping he understood. Her eyes shone with tears she refused to shed. "Father was the bravest man I knew, and he got his head chopped off. Yoren went down taking five men with him, but he went down regardless. Robb had mother and Grey Wind by his side, and yet not one of them managed to survive Walder Frey of all people. Sansa, Bran, Rickon, Hot Pie... I've lost so many people. I can't lose you as well." She almost choked on her words but she needed to get them out. She looked around at her brother and her friends and then back at Gendry. "Not again," she added in a voice so low she almost didn't hear herself speak.

She saw the recognition in Gendry's eyes immediately, and before she knew it he was making his way towards her. He gathered her tiny frame in his arms and pressed his lips to her hair. She buried her face in the front of his tunic and fisted her hands into the fabric, taking in his scent. He kept pressing kisses into her hair, his grip never wavering. She didn't want to make the others uncomfortable, but at that moment the need to be in Gendry's arms overpowered everything else and she couldn't bring herself to let go. She didn't want to let go anyway.

She managed to finally pull away slightly, her hands refusing to let go of the bunched up shirt, Gendry's hands rubbing her arms. She hated being so vulnerable but she couldn't help the fear that took hold of her. It was almost like a hand gripping her heart so tightly until it threatened to stop beating every time she thought about Gendry or Jon leaving her again, or even Ygritte or Anguy being gone for that matter.

Her fear wasn't completely irrational, she told herself. Both Jon and Gendry had left her at one point. True, the circumstances were very different, but they had gone, and everyday she'd felt her heart crumble a little, and everyday she'd wonder if she would ever see them again.

Shaking the depressing thoughts out of her head, she turned to the side, still nestled in Gendry's arms, to rest her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, and it made her feel inexplicably relieved.

She looked at where the three others stood and Jon gave her a small smile.

"Don't be long," he said giving her a knowing look, quite surprising her with his reaction to the entire situation. He walked past them briefly looking at Gendry, and she could feel Gendry nod against the top of her head.

Anguy and Ygritte followed Jon, but Ygritte stopped midway and turned to look at Arya. "Jon would never leave again," she said in a voice so low Arya was sure she didn't want Jon to hear. "And even if he did, he'd have me to deal with." Her crooked teeth made an appearance as she flashed them a smile before turning to follow the others.

When she and Gendry were finally alone, Arya buried herself deeper in him, feeling her heart swell when his grip on her tightened. A rush of emotion took over her, and she realized she's never felt so content nor so afraid at the same time.

"I wouldn't leave you either, you know," Gendry murmured into her hair.

"I know," She started to say.

"No," Gendry interrupted pulling away from her. She felt a sudden cold and panic wash over her for a split second, but the feelings subsided the minute Gendry took her face in his hands. His thumb lazily stroked her cheek and his eyes looked bluer than ever, a fierceness taking hold of them. "I would NEVER leave you again," he repeated more forcefully. "The only reason I left in the first place was to find Jon," he continued looking straight into her eyes. "I was so worried I wouldn't be enough to hold you back if you decided to leave me," he confessed, lowering his gaze for only a second but then he looked at her sadly. "And you know you would've left eventually." He brushed a stray hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You cared for me, that much I knew, but I wouldn't have been able to stop you."

She wanted to deny it. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that she wouldn't have left. But she couldn't. "Gendry," she managed to choke out quietly, unsure of how to go on.

" I don't blame you," Gendry went on, saving her the trouble of trying to find the right words. He was always saving her. "I would've never blamed you for leaving, but I still didn't want it to happen. So I had two choices. Leave you first, or get you what you would've left me for," he went on, a sad smile gracing his features, and she could tell it hurt him to think about her leaving.

Looking at him, Arya had to wonder how in the world she ever thought she could leave him. She felt the tears threaten to fall once more, one even escaping through her lashes, but just as she reached out, his thumb was already wiping the treacherous drop away. She settled on holding his hands on either side of her face instead. "So you got me Jon," she said smiling at the memory. The day they padded their way down the woods and into her life again, Ygritte in tow, was the happiest she'd ever felt.

"So I got you Jon," Gendry repeated smiling too. He leaned in to grab her lips but then pulled away just as their lips touched. "And Ygritte, too," he added as Arya glared at him, bemused by his antics.

She laughed though, and pulled him back for a kiss, fiercely trying to convey all the love she felt for him as their lips met over and over again.

The way he held her, she'd never been held like that. It was as if she was his anchor and he's get lost if he ever let her go. She'd never been kissed like that either. Or looked at like that for that matter, with so much love and awe like he couldn't believe she was real and his. It tugged at her heartstrings, how open he was with how much he needed her, and she worried she wasn't open enough. That he didn't know how much SHE needed HIM.

"You won't ever not be enough," she whispered as he hugged her. "I still want so much," she added and she felt him stiffen against her. "I have to find Sansa, and Nymeria, and Rickon and Bran, too," she continued, sensing how on edge he was becoming, and worse still, how hard he was trying not to show it. "I know they're all supposed to be dead, but so are we, and here we are. So they might still be out there." She pulled away and took his hands in hers again. His were so much bigger than hers but they fit together perfectly. "But you," she started again looking him in the eye, "I'm never leaving you either. No matter what. You're stuck with me." She felt him relax against her as he let out a low chuckle.

"I'm being punished for something, aren't I?" he teased and she saw the corners of his eyes crinkle as his grin widened.

She let go of his hands and punched his right shoulder. "You're a stupid bull," she muttered turning around and walking away from him.

"Thank you, m'lady." He followed her chuckling quietly and rubbing his sore shoulder. He watched her move in front of him, quickening her pace, and he didn't realize how dark the sky had become until he lost sight of her. As she disappeared behind bushes and trees, an irrational fear of losing her washed over him. "Wait," he practically yelled, nearly jumping to catch up with her. "Arya." He reached for her shoulder just as she turned around.

"What?" She asked as he came to a halt in front of her. A haunted look crossed his face, his arm left hanging midair as it reached out for her. Slowly, he lowered it back to his side, taking a deep breath as his face regained some of its color. It was her turn to worry. "What's wrong?"

He saw the fear in her eyes. They were both so damaged by their pasts. They'd been abandoned too many times, had gone through so much grief, and worse, they both knew that wouldn't be the end of it. The long winter had yet to begin and their journey together had barely started. But they had to start trusting each other if they were ever going to make it.

"I love you," Gendry said quietly, reaching out his hand to cup her face. "I know you know that," he continued smiling sadly, "but I just needed to say it."

She knew the look on his face even if he tried to hide it behind a smile. It was the same look she had anytime she thought about being away from him. "I love you, too." She reached for his hand and stood up on the tip of her toes to press a feather light kiss to his jaw before turning around to make her way back to camp.

Gendry moved beside Arya, his hand firmly gripping hers.

When they reached the others, they found them already huddled around a fire, Jon whispering something in Ygritte's ear as the wildling smiled, gripping his hands. He pressed a kiss to her temple, and Arya couldn't help but smile at the sight. Jon looked up when he finally heard them move, and Arya felt Gendry loosen his grip on her hand, but she held tighter still, silently forbidding him to let go.

"Anguy's gone with Lem to fetch some rabbits for us to eat," Jon said smiling at his sister. She smiled back before padding her way onto a nearby log and sitting down. Gendry followed suit after putting away their bows and quivers.

"The others will be here soon enough, too," Ygritte added smiling still and offering Arya and Gendry a skin of wine.

Arya took a sip and handed it to Gendry, but he shook his head.

"Tom plans on serenading us through the night," Jon said looking at Gendry. "You're gonna need it."

Smiling, Arya handed the wineskin to Gendry once more, laughing softly when he took a big gulp.


End file.
